operation DENALI 2009


Overview
Team
TIMELINE
Logistics
Sponsors
News Coverage
About Denali
Links
Donations




Expedition Timeline
Date Event
1-Jun-09 Day 1 Orientation, gear check, NPS registration, pack lunches, fly to Base Camp, distance: 60 miles, elevation gain: 6850’.
2-Jun-09 Day 2 Base Camp: organize, acclimate, review glacier travel and crevasse rescue.  
3-Jun-09 Day 3 Single to Ski Hill, Camp 1, 7,800’, distance: 5.5 miles, elevation gain: 600’.
4-Jun-09 Day 4 Carry to Kahiltna Pass, 9,700’, distance: 5 miles, elevation gain: 1900’. 
5-Jun-09 Day 5 Move to Kahiltna Pass, Camp 2, 9,700’, distance: 5 miles, elevation gain: 1900’. 
6-Jun-09 Day 6 Single to 11,000’, Camp 3, distance: 1.5 miles, elevation gain: 1300’. 
  Purple Heart Trail Dedication
7-Jun-09 Day 7 Rest day 
8-Jun-09 Day 8 Carry to 13,500’ around Windy Corner, distance: 1.75 miles, elevation gain: 2500’. 
9-Jun-09 Day 9 Move to 14,200’, Camp IV, distance: 2.75 miles, elevation gain: 3200’. 
10-Jun-09 Day 10 Back carry 13,500’ cache, distance: 1 mile, elevation gain: 700’. 
11-Jun-09 Day 11 Carry to 16,200’ , distance: 1 mile, elevation gain: 2000’. 
12-Jun-09 Day 12 Rest at 14,200’. 
13-Jun-09 Day 13 Move to 16,200 feet or 17,200’, Camp V, distance: 1.75 miles, elevation gain: 3000’. 
14-Jun-09 Day 14 Rest day or move to 17,200 feet, C amp VI, distance: 1.75 miles, elevation gain: 3000’. 
15-18 Jun 09 Day 15, 16, 17, 18 Summit days, distance: 4 miles, elevation gain: 3120’. 
19-Jun-09 Day 19 Return to 14,200 feet or 11,000’, distance: 2.25 miles. 
20-Jun-09 Day 20 Return to Base Camp, 7,200’, distance: 11.25 miles. 
21-Jun-09 Day 21 Fly back to Talkeetna.

February 24, 2010

 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:

Operation Denali successfully summitted Mt McKinley
at 1830hrs on 16 June 2009!

Our Mission: 

Enable four Warriors wounded in the Global War on Terrorism to overcome devastating combat injuries and successfully summit 20,320 ft Denali, the highest mountain in North America, symbolizing the strength of our Nation and those who defend it.

Objectives:

1.  To raise awareness for the needs of severely injured service men and women

2.  To  work together to overcome our physical limitations and achieve a common goal made to seem insurmountable by the impact of our injuries on our lives

3.  To demonstrate by performance and example that no obstacle is so great that the human spirit cannot overcome it

Watch Specialist Shebib
reenlist on the Summit!





Op Denali Slideshow


Expedition Journal

KTUU News Video:

Mission accomplished: Operation Denali comes home

Operation Denali members back from McKinley climb

Group of wounded vets reach Denali summit

In the News:

US Army Bloggers Roundtable "Adventurers of the Year"

Wounded warrior ties for National Geographic's Adventurer of Year

Face of Defense:  Wounded Warrior Hopes to Inspire Others

Reader's Choice Award Winners Announced!

LTC Marc Hoffmeister selected by National Geographic as Adventurer of the Year 2009!

2009 Veterans and Remembrance Day Speech and Slideshow by LTC Hoffmeister

Operation Denali: Four Wounded Warriors Set Out to Conquer a Mountain

Wounded Warriors Reach Mount McKinley's Summit

Operation Denali 2009 - Man vs Mountain, DOD
Defenselink Special Feature

Injured veterans defy dangers on Denali

Purple Heart Radio Interviews:

Preclimb Interview

Pre Summit Interview 1

Pre-Summit Interview 2

Post Climb Final Interview


Senator Begich's about Operation Denali

Operation Denali successfully funded the majority of our expedition through
the incredible generosity of many individuals and our sponsors.

Thank you Operation Denali Sponsors!

 

Watch news coverage of Operation Denali:

Anchorage Ch 2 News            Anchorage Daily News

Video:  Operation Denali trains at the AMS Mountaineering School

Watch on You Tube

Download this video:
Small Video (23 Mb)Large Video (81 Mb)

Our Mission: 

Enable four Warriors wounded in the Global War on Terrorism to overcome devastating combat injuries and successfully summit 20,320 ft Denali, the highest mountain in North America, symbolizing the strength of our Nation and those who defend it.

Objectives:

1.  To raise awareness for the needs of severely injured service men and women

2.  To  work together to overcome our physical limitations and achieve a common goal made to seem insurmountable by the impact of our injuries on our lives

3.  To demonstrate by performance and example that no obstacle is so great that the human spirit cannot overcome it

 

The physical struggle to survive and overcome visible combat wounds is obvious to the casual observer, but it is the battle of rediscovery that is the longest, most hard fought struggle a Wounded Warrior must face.

There is an insidious threat, buried in the soul of every warrior who has left a part of himself upon the field of battle.  To fall prey to this threat is to become the greatest casualty …he who forgets himself - what he once was and what he can still be. To be this casualty is to give up the fight, to wallow in your condition with no trace of hope, no recognition of what is still possible.

   

 "It’s been almost a year now since the IED strike ripped through my body and changed my path so quickly. My body is still intact, sort of.  Not all of my men were so lucky.  But I’m no longer the man I once was.  My left arm is titanium from wrist to elbow and then some.  I lost 50% of the muscle mass in my arm and five inches of my ulnar nerve.  I’ll need more surgery in the future.  I don’t have feeling in my left arm, leg or several fingers and can’t fully control its use.  My brain has become adept at suppressing the pain.  As time crawls by, I struggle to rediscover my own ability.  Slowly, I am gaining strength.
     I won’t be that casualty who forgets who he was or can't see what he can still be.  After months of hospitalization, 8 surgeries, and the constant pain of therapy, I allowed my wounds to convince me that chance was gone, but not anymore.  I will climb this mountain to remember who I am and for the Wounded Warrior’s like me, to shrug off the limits of perception formed within the scars of our wounds.  If my fight to not be 'that guy' can be an inspiration to another Warrior, then I don’t want it to be a secret. And when I summit, I will have likeminded Warriors at my side because I know that I am not alone in this desire."
                 ----- Marc  Hoffmeister, Team Leader, Operation Denali 

If you have questions about our mission, contact Marc Hoffmeister.

If you want to help the team raise funding for other Wounded Warriors, please donate! 

All donations are fully tax deductible and processed by the Veterans Fund of the United States, a non-profit veterans service organization with an IRS determination of 501 (c) (3) and ID #23-287794.